1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of wet labels and, more particularly to a wet label that is used to determine a device has been submerged.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, products, such as electronic devices (e.g., a portable communication device, a computer, a portable electronic calculator), battery packs, or the like, are subject to serious breakdown when they come in contact with a significant amount of liquid. Specifically, a wet label may be included in or on a device to determine whether the device has been in contact with a significant amount of water (e.g., submerged). A wet label may be used to indicate that the device has experienced a significant liquid event (submergence).
A wet label includes an ink that is either taken off or discolored when submerged or comes in contact with a liquid, e.g., water. Thus, during maintenance of the device, it is possible to determine if a product has been submerged according to the existence or discoloration of the printed portion.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional wet label 1 includes: an adhesive part 3 attached on an external surface of a device 2; an ink layer 4 provided at the upper side of the adhesive part 3; a submergence layer 5 provided at the upper side of the ink layer 4; and a coating layer 6 provided at the upper side of the submergence layer 5.
The conventional wet label 1 is configured to inhibit a liquid (such as water) from contacting the front side of the submergence layer (5), and to be discolored when water contacts the lateral side of the submergence layer (5).
As shown in FIG. 2, another conventional wet label 10 includes: an adhesive part 30 attached on the external surface of a device 20; a submergence layer 40 provided at the upper side of the adhesive part 30; and an ink layer 50 provided at the upper side of the submergence layer.
The conventional wet label 10 has no coating layer, and thus is configured to be discolored when the submergence layer comes in contact with any liquid, such as water.
However, conventional wet labels are configured to be attached on the external surface of an electronic device, and thus have some disadvantages. Specifically, when the wet label is discolored by an external temperature change (e.g., moisture exposure) and a user's mistake (e.g., touch of a wet hand), it is impossible to determine if the electronic device has been submerged. Thus, it is not possible to exactly know the cause of a defect of the electronic device and if may be required to disassemble the device in order to determine if the electronic device had been submerged. Thus, an unnecessary assembling process increases the maintenance cost of the electronic device.
Accordingly, there is a need for a wet label that is not discolored by an external environmental change or a user's mistake (e.g., touch of a wet hand), and can quickly show if an electronic device a significant amount of liquid has contacted the wet label.